Ithaca College in New York admitted to letting a trans athlete compete in a Division III rowing competition over the weekend. The college allowed this despite the fact that the NCAA changed its gender eligibility policy back in February to prevent biological males from competing in women’s sports, in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order addressing the issue.
The trans athlete competed in the Cayuga Duals on Saturday, but only in the third varsity eight event, which is not factored into NCAA championship qualification.
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Ithaca provided a statement to Fox News Digital saying the participation of the trans athlete was due to a “misunderstanding” by the coaching staff about what was considered an official NCAA event, and referenced the policy’s allowing of male practice players.
“It is the intent of Ithaca College to comply with all NCAA rules. Under those rules, the student-athlete in question has the ability to be on the roster and participate in practices and open-gender competition. This past weekend, there was a misunderstanding by the coaching staff about what constituted an official NCAA event, because there is no third varsity rowing event at NCAA championships,” the statement read.
Ithaca finished in first place in the first and second varsity eight events over Hamilton College and William Smith College, but finished in third place in the third varsity eight event that the trans athlete competed in.
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The NCAA has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Ithaca’s breach of policy.
“The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and students assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID. If competition occurs, the team will be considered a mixed team and not eligible to compete against women’s teams. Ithaca stated their intent to adhere to the policy which allows for practice opportunities and the NCAA appreciates Ithaca’s responsiveness,” the statement read.
The NCAA did not indicate that the results of the event will be voided or that Ithaca will face any consequences.
Ithaca’s recent incident is the first known occurrence of a trans athlete competing in a women’s competition since the NCAA amended its gender eligibility policy on Feb. 6.
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“A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team,” the new policy read.
The previous policy, which was put in place in 2010, allowed biological males to compete in the women’s category after undergoing at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment. That policy has resulted in multiple lawsuits against the NCAA and its member schools for specific incidents involving trans inclusion affecting biologically female athletes.
The Trump administration is currently investigating two schools named in those lawsuits, the University of Pennsylvania and San Jose State University, for enabling trans athletes Lia Thomas and Blaire Fleming to compete in the women’s category.
The administration has already paused $175 million in federal funding to UPenn as a consequence for allowing Thomas to compete on the women’s swim team in 2021-22.
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